The Society for Philosophy and Psychology has presented its Stanton Prize to Liane Young, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Boston College. The prize honors a young scholar who has made significant contributions to interdisciplinary research in philosophy, psychology and related disciplines. Her research focuses on the psychology and neuroscience of moral judgment and behavior. Young is on the editorial boards of both Psychological Science and PLOS ONE.
Tufts University has dedicated an undergraduate dormitory in honor of psychologist Bernard W. Harleston, PhD, a former professor, dean and trustee of the school. Harleston, who was the first African-American hired to a tenure-track position at Tufts, was honored for his work championing inclusion, diversity and access to education. He was a professor of psychology at Tufts from 1956 until 1968 and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1970 until 1980, then became president of the City College of New York. He is now a senior associate at the New England Resource Center for Higher Education.
Mackenzie Leachman, PhD, received a Best Practice Award from the Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative, presented at the Kentucky Association for Psychology in the Schools fall conference. Leachman earned her doctorate at the University of Kentucky and has worked in the Fayette County Public Schools system for 15 years. She was honored for her work with high-functioning students within the autism spectrum.
The Society for Social Neuroscience has presented Steve Chang, PhD, with an Early Career Award for his contributions to social neuroscience. Chang, an assistant professor of psychology and neurobiology at Yale University, studies the neural mechanisms responsible for social cognition using both neurophysiological and neuroendocrinological approaches while nonhuman primates are actively engaged in social interactions.
Psychologist William Moulton Marston (1893–1947) is still making headlines. The United Nations has appointed Wonder Woman—the superhero Marston developed in 1941—as an honorary ambassador for "the empowerment of women and girls." The U.N. made the announcement on Oct. 21, Wonder Woman's 75th birthday. The choice is controversial since some believe the U.N. should have chosen a real, not a fictional, woman. Marston, who is widely known for helping to develop the lie detector test, was an educational consultant for the company that became DC Comics. He advised the company to create a superhero with the strength of Superman and "the allure of a good and beautiful woman." To read more about Marston and Wonder Woman, see page 96 of the October Monitor.
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services has honored Arnold LeUnes, EdD, with a Vision Award for his work to encourage his students to help people with disabilities. Throughout his 42 years of teaching at Texas A&M University, LeUnes has taken his psychology students to the Brenham State Supported Living Center to socialize with and cook for the residents.
Give an Hour, the charitable organization founded by Barbara van Dahlen, PhD, has won a $50,000 award from the Newman's Own Foundation in recognition of the more than 200,000 hours of free counseling for military service members, their families and veterans that Give an Hour volunteers have donated over the past decade. The organization will use the award money to upgrade technology as it expands.
